card tests

Here at Stephens we are currently embroiled in Card Tests. Card Tests happen four times a year, in the middle of each term. They are what American students would call midterm exams. They are not as stressful as final exams, but will still count toward the students' final grades. For me, this means proctoring a couple exams. But unlike last term's finals, I did not need to create any tests and have been able to take it somewhat easy.

the rarely captured CIA (Cheater In Action)

For the Boarders (the students who live here at the school), this means extra time spent studying in the evening. They do not like Card Tests.

I do not like Card Tests. The students are mostly tested on how well they can mirror information found in these books:

Pasang just loves studying "A Text Book Of: Health, Population, and Environment"

and like a mirror, their knowledge need only run surface deep. However, this is an unfortunate necessity to prepare the students for their looming Standardized Test (capital S, capital T)--the dreaded SLC, or School Leaving Certificate. Stephens and the Stephens teachers do their best to break the reflective nature a student's brain plays between the material and the test. This is why the students and I can't be done with Card Tests soon enough. They will be finished just in time for Christmas--a pleasant present for a holiday they don't really celebrate.